The seventh-round pick has been outspoken and confident as his progress was watched as closely as that of any other rookie in the league. He has been cheered by athletes and celebrities. In the end, the defensive end couldn't make a team stocked with pass-rushers.

He still can be picked up by another team or make the Rams' practice squad.

In a series of tweets, Sam thanked the Rams for drafting him, for "allowing me to show I can play at this level," and said he looked forward to building on the progress he felt he made "toward a long and successful career."

"The most worthwhile things in life rarely come easy, this is a lesson I've always known," Sam said. "The journey continues."

"There will be no challenge, no challenges whatsoever," for a team that picks up Sam, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said at a news conference.

"There's no challenge with respect to Mike Sam," Fisher said. "He's not about drawing attention to himself. He kept his head down and worked and you can't ask anything more out of any player for that matter."

The Rams selected the SEC co-Defensive Player of the Year at Missouri with the 249th overall pick out of 256 overall during May's draft. Sam came out as gay following his final season at Missouri.

Fisher said he was proud to have made the landmark pick, but he made clear from the start that he chose Sam because he thought he had the talent to make it.

Calling it quits: Linebacker James Harrison, a five-time Pro Bowler, announced his retirement on Facebook.

Harrison played in Cincinnati last year after a decade in Pittsburgh, where he was released multiple times early in his career before becoming a star at age 29. He was a two-time All-Pro and was the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year.

Bills add QB: Free-agent quarterback Kyle Orton, who spent the previous two seasons with Dallas, has agreed to a contract with Buffalo, where he probably will serve as the top backup behind second-year starter EJ Manuel.

Orton replaces Jordan Palmer, who was cut after throwing three interceptions in a 23-0 loss to Detroit on Thursday.

Roster moves: The New York Jets released suspended cornerback Dimitri Patterson, ending a bizarre week that began when he left the team before its preseason game against the Giants on Aug. 23.

The move came as the Jets got down to the mandatory 53-player roster limit.

Patterson was suspended Tuesday for the rest of the preseason after he left the team, according to the Jets, and went missing before the preseason game without speaking to anyone in the organization. In a statement to ESPN on Thursday, Patterson said the Jets' claims that he went missing for 48 hours without notifying the team were "completely false."